Protestors from the “Black Lives Matter” movement stage a die-in at the Paris Climate Summit. This demonstration, one of many at COP21, pointed out that
environmental destruction has a disproportionate impact on communities of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, who are often left out of
policy discussions. Photo by Sarah Huang.

by concentrating on how to introduce more sustainableforms of existence. But the game was designed in such away as to steer them instead towards focusing solely onthe preparation of security conflicts that would arise.Of course it’s important to be concerned about food andwater security, but without serious attention given totransforming our environmental relations, the situationcan only worsen.”Johnson’s approach is essentially the antidote to theextremist attitude of environmentality. Diplomatic andpreventative, it’s the kind of alternative Marzec is aimingfor—a sense of calm amid the storm of climate change.

“Understanding the best response to a worst-casescenario is critical—and wholly appropriate for the defensecommunity—but I try to help policymakers proactivelyidentify adaptive, long-term strategies that are robustto a wide range of future uncertainties, with the goalof preventing the worst from ever coming to pass,”Johnson says.

Among other projects, Johnson is developing robust
policies for flood risk mitigation measures like elevating
or floodproofing homes. He’s also collaborating with
California water agencies to incorporate climate change
and other uncertainties into their planning. His work,
along with Marzec’s, helps us understand and improve
our ever-evolving world rather than fear and fight
over its changes.
By Sam Watermeier.